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Hormuz dispute escalates
CENTCOM posted on X that "Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz" and said that since early May U.S. forces have helped facilitate the successful transit of more than 800 commercial vessels and 380 million barrels of crude oil through the vital international trade corridor.
The same reporting described Iranian state media claiming a "US-Israeli projectile" hit a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr, while American officials denied that U.S. forces were conducting attacks at the time.
In parallel, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country was prepared to resume its military campaign against Iran if necessary and "with even greater force" than previous strikes.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke by phone with counterparts in Pakistan, Turkey, and Oman on July 9, including a call where he warned against any further US military "adventurism" and condemned US strikes on Iran as a violation of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
The RFE/RL account also said the IRGC targeted a base in Jordan that houses US forces after the Jordanian military said it intercepted eight missiles fired from Iran on July 9.
Jordan intercepts, IRGC vows
IRNA said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it struck an enemy command-and-control center in West Asia and a US airbase in Al-Azraq, Jordan, using ten ballistic missiles, and warned that other American bases would not be safe from its heavy fire.
ANI reported that Jordan’s government spokesperson Mohammad Al-Momani said on X that "Air raid sirens were activated by the Public Security Directorate" after missiles entered the country’s airspace from Iran and were intercepted.
ANI also quoted an IRGC statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB saying that at 2:20 pm the IRGC aerospace fighters destroyed the enemy’s command and control centre in West Asia and the enemy air base in Al-Azraq, Jordan, with 10 ballistic missiles.
The New York Post said Jordan’s armed forces intercepted eight of the missiles and reported no injuries, while Kuwait’s military confirmed interceptions of a cruise missile, three ballistic missiles and 10 drones.
Al Jazeera later reported that the IRGC said US bases in the region would be targeted if "US aggression" was repeated, as mediators urged both sides to uphold the MoU to extend an April ceasefire and gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
Retaliation threatens MoU
Al Jazeera said the renewed fighting threatens to undermine a memorandum of understanding the two sides agreed last month to extend an April ceasefire and gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, after Trump said the truce was "over".
Al Jazeera reported that the US struck approximately 90 military targets, including missile and drone storage as well as logistics sites along Iran’s coastline late on Wednesday, and that Iran’s Ministry of Health said at least 14 people were killed and 78 injured over the past two days.
In the same account, Trump called the US attacks "retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran" and said that if it happens again, it will get much worse.
The Reuters-linked RFE/RL report said CENTCOM reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and that Tehran has no right to control it, while also noting that Tehran has said it will charge fees for ships transiting the waterway.
WION described Jordan’s air defence system intercepting and shooting down eight missiles launched from Iran, adding that the interception resulted in shrapnel and debris falling over several areas and that no casualties or property damage had been reported.
